SCOTLAND.

(Fbom Ouk Own Correspondent.)

EDiNBDKobi, December 10. LOBD YTOLSELEY IN SCOTLAND. : The Field-marsha,l Commanding-in-chief has bean with us-for some days past, and has been turning his time to good account, Ou December 3 he delivered the iuaugurnl address for the ssßßJon t» the members of the Philosophical Institution, Edinburgh, his subjeofc being " Moderu Armies and the Influence of War upon Civilisation." Lord Wolseley began by referring to tbe great military organisations on the Continent, which, he said, were a result of the extrf.ordihary adv&noes mstde by science in the iast balf-ceaturj\ Ha ruajntMued tih&t; the roaehinery.'thus created was circulated to , exercise &n important and peroiibent influence i ..upon the national life and welfare of' tbose • grext States, and- upon civilisation in general. He argued at some length, and cited Ruskin in

Bdinbdkgh, December 10 LOBD WOLSELEY IN SCOTLAND. The Field-marshal Commanding-in-chief has bean with us for some days past, and has been turning his time to good account. Ou December 3 he delivered the inaugural addcess for the ssßßJon t» the members o( the Philosophical Institution, Edinburgh, his subjeot being " Modern Armies and the Influence of War upon Civilisation." Lord Wolseley began by referring to tbe great military organisations on the Continent, which, he said, were a result of the extrf.ordiiisry adv&noes made by science in the.last ha.lf-ceo.tury. Ha niajntMUßd that the machinery ..'thus created was circulated to exercise &n important and permanent influence .upon the national life and welfare of' those grext States, and- upon civilisation in general. He argued at some length, and cited Ruskin in his support, that history showed that* nations had suffered more through degenerating in time of peace than they had from the evils resulting from war. .After painting out that the greater: part of the British Umpire had been acquired by war, and that pha 'state of the world at the. present; moment gives no assurance of a prolonged peace, Lord Wolteley w«nt on to expatiate upon the advantages of a military training. AmoDg these he enumerated habits of . discipline, -order, punctuality, a spirit; of comradeship, and the f»culty of organisation. He, believed that it was the feeling produced by their . military training that bo largely saved Germany from strikes and quarrels 'between employers and employed. Hs aleo ' insisted. tint, physical training of some: sorb was necessary, and should be made compulsory in some fi)tm, both for men and women. In the concluding part of his address Lord Wolseley. pointed to the j crushing defeat of Chine by a comparatively amsH Stale like J*pan as an illustration of the danger of allowing the national military spirit to bo killed by the opprobrium which was attached to the fighting man's trade. y«l; the Chinese possessed many flnemilitary qualities, which he named, adding:" I Have no hflsitation in saying that, given a free hind and sUnwed' at first to draw upon England for officers and military instructors, -1 would jiimrautee to raise in a oouple of years a great Chinese army which it would hs hard indeed to beat,; There is enrtainly nothing in the East "i that could beat it." These are a few points in a most isterestipg aud iustnictive address. Oa the followiog day Lord V/olaeley reviewed in the Queen's Park the trcopa stationed »(• Edinburch,1 together with tho mbunted- officers of the Queen's Edinburgh Rifle. Brigade. Iv theevisnlng he was present at "he aunu.il dinner of the B«st of Scotland Tactical Society, when he made another interesting upe'rcV The 'Eav\ of Wemyss havibg referred in term* of apprehension/to the extreme youth of the ri-cruita for tbe wmy, Lord Vvolseley. pointed to th» doings of the fioldiers in tha Chitral and Dongola expeditions as proving that there was no I'alltbg oS iv the quality of British soldiers. Ou December 8 Lord Wolseley was at Perth, where he received the freedom of the city, and uuveiled au pbelisk which has been erected on the North. Inoh in mennory of the raising, a century ago, of the 90th Light Infantry Regimsnt (Perthshire Rifles), with which hii lordship served in the Crimea. He said he believed it wag the only battalion in the army which had contributed two commanders-iu-ohief. iSeveril veterans who had known him in days long ago were presented to Lord Wol«eley, who greatly gratified them by his remembrance of tbeni. They hud fought with him in the Crimea, India, China, and clnewhee. Tnß LATE PSOFESSOK ROBERTSON SJIITH.

The presentation cf. a memorial portrait of Professor Robertson Smith, pamted by Sir George Reid, PR.SA., to the F-ee Caurch College, Aberdeen, took plaoo on November 23, in presence of a large, assemblage. ,Ttnjnbjiiigenarian Principal Brown nent a tetter expressing hearty sympathy with tke cercmouy." The present»tionwas made in an Appropriate speech by the- Rer. Dr Walter Smith, of Edinburgh. Other speeoheH were msde' eulogising the cbatacter and work of the deceaecd. Ifc is impossible to read them without teoalling the very d'iferenfc language that was used reg^rdicß Dr Robertson Smith when be was tlfioriyed of hia ohaic in the sutne college only 20 ye&rg *go. Truly the whirligig of time bring'! :fc» revenges. ; NEW HAILWAY SCHEMES.

Much interest 18 being t&knn in Argyleshireiu a project for bringing a railway to Inverary. Au organised, attempt was tntde nearly 18 inontb.B sgo to get something dons by asking the North British Railway Company to .construct a \inefcom Jh» head of Loch Fane to the West Highland railway. The request wiw refused, and the promoters then turned to the Caledonian Company, which has tak?n the matter up, and is now proreotiitig' a bill for the construction of a line from laverary to connect with the Callander mid Obnn railway at Dslmally.a distance of 16jr miles. The route in unattended by any speoial engineering difficulties, and the line would open up a ne<v ftiid picturesque district to tourists. Ill' would alfio greatly help th« flshiuir iuduotry in Loch Fyue, iv which as many as 500 boats eiigage at a time. At present the fish has to be conveyed to Greenock or Glsmgow in screw steamers of ijlow speed, and the trade is muoh hampered by the want of more rapid communication such as a railway would furnish. It i* al>o believed the trade in sheep and cattle would be an extenirivo one. The district abomida in" granite and other valuable «ton?,s, and nickel ore if also found in it. It is further belipved that v»hen united to the railway gystcms of the country, Inver&ty, which, lint many natural attractions, would rapidly grovr in fAvoixr, and would beooms n favourite watering |d»co. It is rumoured, tnnreover, th&t further, extensions would evenhully be constructed down Onuti'e .■is far &s Campbelltowli, with a. branfth th Crinan, which' would ba a boon to liduj. Slowly but surely the iron hoi'Bti ia penrtmtisig evtn t.hs remotest districtn, snd is doing gtaiin work iri opening up and popul*tiri<f thfi country. A great sttuaglH \>etween the Great North of Scotland and Highland l'aihvoys for the control of the traffio between Aberdeen and Inverness '.« gtated to be ahon'u to begin shortly^ t.be former company beinjf the p.g»!rcs?or. Ths. issue of the conflict Will bn watchi'.d with the Ei'eateob intsreMi throughout the norllifirn and north-eaßtern districts of Scotland. In seme rt-apestg ill is a renewal of the atioieat; struggle . botween the Saxott and the (Mfc. ' The Caledonian Railway Company :s goilijj to aesk powers andcv thn Light R*ilwayK ; Act of 1896 to construct a light railway from Elynnfoot, on it« main line, to the Iteadhiil<i and Wanlockhead, a distance of seven or eight i miles through a wild and dsaolata coiinhy. 1 Tbere is a'so t»lk of'the same act bring token j ndvAUtitga of for thfl construction of lines in i. llo?s, Sutherland, atid fMitbn'Sl, but no | defuiitft pchemes are jeO ratntioned. i The Nofth Briciah i» flghtiug h»idin the laT ' courts just now to throw off the jdke of tho. North-B'.Rtern, which sl.ili control* the running of the trains between England and Scotland by

j the Bant Coast rottlu as far as Edinburgh, I running on Norfcb-Britinh rails ffom Berwick. i MISHAP TO THB POET LAUREATE. i The poet laureJit* had an unnl«a«».iit and ', potnewhat risky ndveoture the other day while fhhlug in Sprounton Dub, on the Tweed, above i Coldstream. Ho somt'how fell into tho water, ! and when with the boatman's help ho raanagtd I to get into the boat again it wna found that ono | of the o*rs had bten lost, and the boat wsb beiug swiftly hurriecl by witd and current tp a weir, over which the-wate? was flowing frith great force. The dripping poet quietly decided upon his course of action, and plunged into tho stream again. He succeeded in roaehing foothold on the edge of the weir, whonce, after a i time, he was rescued. It was a very chilij- peri fcrmance for a Scottish November day, but perhaps it may yet inspire the poetic muse. r Burnt would have turned tuch an adventtmi to good account.

A. SCOTOIBISH TUNNEL. Attention is br,i_ng once more directed in Belfast to the project for constructing a railway tunnel under the Channel between Irelandi and Scotland. Some years .ago" tba matter was discussed at a public meeting held in Belfast, whca a committee wa» appointed to go further into the »üb]Vet f butit seems to have done little or nothing. By iue»ns of such a tunnel tbe journey from London to Belfast wonld be reduced from 12£ to 10£ hours. From Belfast *o Glasgow would only occupy four hoursrand to Edinburgh five bours. Betides the breadth of the chanaol—fully 21 miles—» serious obstacle fxists in the water being nearly 1000 ft deep for part of the way.. It is doubtful if the traffic would pay for the great cost which such an undertaking would invoke. With the splendid steamers now running betwßeu Ardrossau and Belfast it is poanible to go ?rom Glasgow, and even from Edinburgh to Belfast and back .in one diiy, arid a good many tourists take advantage of" this service during the summer. Having repeatedly paassd through the Savero Tunnel, which is four roil^s in'length! I am inolineil bo think that few people would twice patronise s tunn.l more than five times as Jopg, but would prefer a stesmor, even with the ch»nces of se» sickne«s thrown in.